Films 2018
All films screened at the festival have English subtitles.
Film critic from Poland, Sebastian Smoliński, will make introductions to all films.
NARRATIVES
Me and My Father / Ja i Mój Tata (2017)
Screening time: Thursday, Nov. 8, 7:00 pm
Director Aleksander Pietrzak in attendance
Duration: 30 min.
Category: Drama
Directed by Alek Pietrzak
Written by Mateusz Pastewka, Aleksander Pietrzak
Director of photography: Mateusz Pastewka
Edited by Jarek Barzan
Music composer – Łukasz Targosz
Produced by - STUDIO MUNKA
Cast: Krzysztof Kowalewski, Łukasz Simlat, Agnieszka Żulewska, Tomasz Sapryk
Synopsis:
Edward – Dawid’s father, as a master mariner was able to see his son only few days every year. Now Dawid has his own family and he decides to take care of his father who has Alzheimer’s disease. Even though there is time now for them both to improve their relation the illness makes it impossible. Every day Edward has fewer and fewer memories that are so valuable for Dawid to fill the gaps from his past. How much of his present life will Dawid be able to sacrifice to gain from his father’s past and spend the last moments with him and his vanishing consciousness?
A Cat With A Dog / Jak Pies z Kotem (2018)
Screening time: Thursday, Nov. 8, 8:00pm
Actress Bożena Stachura in attendance
Duration: 102min.
Category: Drama
Directed by Janusz Kondratiuk
Written by Janusz Kondratiuk, Dominik W. Rettinger
Producer: Michał Kwieciński
Cinematography: Witold Płóciennik psc
Editing: Marcin Kot Bastkowski psm
Music: Bartłomiej Gliniak
Cast: Robert Więckiewicz, Olgierd Łukaszewicz, Bożena Stachura, Aleksandra Konieczna
Synopsis:
Artistic family of two film directors, a singing actress and a painter that strongly influenced the 1970s and 80s Polish culture find themselves in sudden need for confronting illness, passage of time and their mutual relations in a hyperactive and global reality of XXI century that makes the past seemingly unobtrusive.
Janusz Kondratiuk – a popular director of comedy films, learns about a stroke of his older brother Andrzej Kondratiuk , also a film director, an icon of artistically independent, innovative cinema. Janusz’ wife Beata, a painter, realizes that although married for over ten years, she has never met her brother-in-law. Andrzej’s wife, Iga – a star singing actress – is touring the US. The situation forces Janusz to take care of the brother with whom he hasn’t spoken for years. Subjective and objective, imaginary and rationalistic, willfulness and responsibility intermingle in a picture of an unexpected that appears and demands re-definition of the previous ways of life.
Julius / Juliusz (2018)
Screening time: Friday, Nov. 9, 7:00pm
Director Aleksander Pietrzak in attendance
Duration: 97 min.
Category: Comedy
Directed by Aleksander Pietrzak
Written by Abelard Giza, Kacper Ruciński, Łukasz Światowiec, Michał Chaciński
Producer: Radoslaw Drabik, Michał Chaciński
Cinematography: Mateusz Pastewka
Music: Marcin Macuk
Cast: Wojciech Mecwaldowski, Jan Peszek, Anna Smołowik, Rafał Rutkowski
Synopsis:
The title Juliusz is an orderly art teacher whose main problem in life is his father - an incessantly partying artist-painter. When the senior suffers a second heart attack and yet refuses to change his lifestyle, Juliusz will have to find a way to influence his behavior. The cure for the hero's ills seems to accidentally appear as a careless veterinarian - Dorota. It will turn out, however, that real problems are just coming.
Squadron 303. A True Story / Dywizjon 303. Historia prawdziwa (2018)
Screening time: Friday, Nov. 9, 9:15pm
Duration: 100 min.
Category: Drama, War
Directed by Denis Delić
Written by Zdzisław Samojłowicz, Krzysztof Burdza
Producer: Jacek Samojłowicz
Cinematography: Waldemar Szmidt
Editing: Marcin Kot Bastkowski
Music: Łukasz Pieprzyk
Cast: Maciej Zakościelny, Piotr Adamczyk, Krzysztof Kwiatkowski, Antoni Królikowski, Maciej Cymorek
Synopsis:
This film is based on Arkady Fiedler’s bestselling book and a true story of Polish pilots, heroes of the Battle of Britain. Jan Zumbach, a.k.a. Donald, recovers from a plane crash in a sanatorium when World War II breaks out, forcing him to leave the country. A similar fate awaits the heroic flight instructor Witold Urbanowicz. Both of them move to Great Britain and join RAF to carry on the fight against the enemy. Soon, their heroic deeds catch the attention of commanders and inspire the 303 Squadron – the elite and mostly Polish air force unit. Underestimated and mocked at first, the team quickly wins respect for their outstanding patriotism and bravery.
Panic Attack / Atak Paniki (2017)
Screening time: Saturday, Nov. 10, 2:00pm
Duration: 100 min.
Category: Comedy, Drama
Directed by Paweł Maślona
Written by Paweł Maślona, Aleksandra Pisula, Bartłomiej Kotschedoff
Producer: Jan Kwieciński
Cinematography: Cezary Stolecki
Editing: Agnieszka Glińska
Music: JIMEK
Cast: Dorota Segda, Artur Żmijewski, Nicolas Bro, Magdalena Popławska, Grzegorz Damięcki, Julia Wyszyńska, Aleksandra Pisula, Bartłomiej Kotschedoff, Małgorzata Hajewska-Krzysztofik, Daniel Guzdek
Synopsis:
A “tragedy meets comedy”, this film is a debut by a young director, Paweł Maślona. Six stories about ordinary people put in extreme situations, which cause them to experience panic attacks. We experience a rollercoaster of events: a woman meets her two exes during one night, a couple picks the worst seat on an airplane, a young girl risks having her girlfriends expose her as a porn star, a bride gives birth at her own wedding, a teenager gets stoned for the first time while a young man has to beg his weird mother to save his life’s work. A brilliant satire that cuts through society with razor-sharp humor.
Silent Night / Cicha Noc (2017)
Screening time: Saturday, Nov. 10, 4:00pm
Duration: 97 min.
Category: Comedy, Drama
Directed by Piotr Domalewski
Written by Piotr Domalewski
Producer: Jerzy Kapuściński, Ewa Jastrzębska, Jacek Bromski
Cinematography: Piotr Sobociński jr.
Editing: Leszek Starzyński
Music: Wacław Zimpel
Cast: Dawid Ogrodnik, Tomasz Ziętek, Arkadiusz Jakubik, Paweł Nowisz, Agnieszka Suchora, Maria Dębska, Tomasz Schuchardt
Synopsis:
Adam, a young economic migrant, visits his family house at Christmas Eve, after a few years of working abroad. Nobody in his large family suspects the true reason for his unexpected return to Poland. Piotr Domalewski, won the best director and best script awards, as well as the Discovery of the Year prize at the 2017 Polish Film Festival in Gdynia for this feature debut. It is a story of a family in a Polish village dealing with consequences of having to leave the country in order to make a living.
Cold War / Zimna Wojna (2018)
Screening time: Saturday, Nov. 10, 7:00pm
Duration: 89 min.
Category: Drama, Music, Romance
Directed by Paweł Pawlikowski
Written by Paweł Pawlikowski, Janusz Głowacki
Producer: Ewa Puszczyńska, Tanya Seghatchian
Cinematography: Łukasz Żal
Editing: Jarosław Kamiński
Cast: Joanna Kulig, Tomasz Kot, Borys Szyc, Agata Kulesza
Synopsis:
A passionate story of a woman and a man who met amongst the ruins of post-war Poland. Almost everything divides them, especially their origin and temperament. They seem to be tragically mismatched right from the beginning. But it turns out that despite all the differences and adversities they can’t escape being together or bring themselves to part ways. Cold war Poland of the 1950s, Berlin, Yugoslavia, Paris become the backdrop to their love story that happens in unfavorable times when politics, character faults, or misfortunes drive them apart.
Clergy / Kler (2018)
Screening time: Saturday, Nov. 10, 9:00pm
Duration: 133 min.
Category: Drama
Directed by Wojciech Smarzowski
Written by Wojciech Smarzowski, Wojciech Rzehak
Producer: Jacek Rzehak
Cinematography: Tomasz Madejski
Editing: Paweł Laskowski
Music: Mikołaj Trzaska
Cast: Arkadiusz Jakubik, Jacek Braciak, Robert Więckiewicz, Janusz Gajos, Joanna Kulig, Iwona Bielska, Iza Kuna, Katarzyna Herman, Adrian Zaremba
Synopsis:
A few years back tragic events tied the fate of three Catholic priests. From then on they meet on every anniversary of the disaster to celebrate their survival. On an everyday basis they have their ups and downs. Lisowski works at the curia in a big city, has a career and is dreaming of the Vatican. Problem is, archbishop Mordowicz, an opulent church official who uses his political influence to build the largest sanctuary in Poland, gets in his way. The second priest, Trybus, is a village parson. He ministers to a poor community and gives in to human weaknesses more and more often. Kukuła is not faring well either. Despite his fervent faith, he loses the trust of his parishioners actually overnight. Soon the stories of the three clergymen are going to join once again.
On The Road / Na drodze (2017)
Screening time: Sunday, Nov. 11, 11:00am
Director Bartosz Nowacki in attendance
Duration: 23 min.
Category: Thriller
Directed by Bartosz Nowacki
Written by Bartosz Nowacki
Cinematography: Michał Sterzyński
Music: Marcin Staniszewski
Cast: Magdalena Boczarska, Szymon Bobrowski, Adam Bobik, Przemysław Bluszcz, Jakub Papuga
Synopsis:
During a long ride a woman picks up a hitchhiker. From the very beginning the man does not come across as trustworthy and the woman, anxious and feeling the growing threat, decides to pick up one more person. In the confined space of the car the three strangers begin a tense game. The characters hide some secrets that, revealed in small steps, will lead to tragic events.
Nights and Days / Noce I Dnie (1975)
Screening time: Sunday, Nov. 11, 2:00pm
Duration: 177 min.
Category: Drama, Romance, War
Directed by Jerzy Antczak
Written by Jerzy Antczak, based on the novel by Maria Dąbrowska
Cinematography: Stanisław Loth
Editing: Janina Niedźwiecka
Music: Waldemar Kazanecki
Cast: Jadwiga Barańska , Jerzy Bińczycki, Emir Buczacki, Stanisława Celińska, Władysław Hańcza
Synopsis:
The film portrays the life of two generations of the Niechcic family during a half century of Polish history, between 1865 and 1914. Barbara Niechcic escapes from the town of Kaliniec at the outbreak of World War I. She recalls her life’s triumphs and hardships as her family attempts to hold itself together and retain its dignity despite persecution, expulsion, and losing everything it holds dear. This colorful family saga offers rich atmosphere and a sentimental look at the impoverished nobility, the genesis of the intelligentsia.
DOCUMENTARIES
Over The Limit (2017)
Screening time: Saturday, Nov. 10, 12:30pm
Duration: 74 min.
Category: Sports Documentary
Directed by Marta Prus
Written by Marta Prus
Cinematography: Adam Suzin
Editing: Maciej Pawliński
Music: Mikołaj Stroiński
Cast: Margarita Mamun, Yana Kudryavtseva, Irina Viner, Amina Zaripova
Synopsis:
The 20-year-old Russian, Margarita Mamun, practices rhythmic gymnastics. She is assisted in her preparations for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro by two trainers representing different approaches to success in sports and entering into different relations with her. In an emotional way, the film tells about the psychological costs of extreme sports. It shows how striving for mastery connects with brutal work on the character of the player.
Footsteps in the snow / Pamięć śladów (2018)
Screening time: Sunday, Nov. 11, 12:00pm
Author Roma King and co-producer Łukasz Będkowski in attendance
Duration: 56 min.
Category: Historical, biographical docudrama
Directed by Ignacy Szczepański
Written by Ignacy Szczepański
Cinematography: Przemysław Niczyporuk
Music: Tomasz Opałka
Cast: Mateusz Damięcki, Karolina Rzepa, Helenka Laskowska, Roma King
Synopsis:
The docudrama tells the story of the Michniewicz family and childhood memories, but most of all it’s the story – passed on from generation to generation – of the family’s escape from Siberia during World War II. Roma, as a small baby, together with her mother, grandfather and great-grandmother, were all forcibly relocated by the Soviets to Siberia from their family estate in Soviet-occupied Poland. Romuald, Roma’s father, was an officer in the Polish forces and later held in Moscow as a political prisoner of the NKWD, Soviet secret police. After amnesty, he joined the Polish Army under General Anders, tracked down his family against all odds, and orchestrated their very daring and dramatic escape from Siberia.
CHILDREN’S PROGRAM
Animated Shorts
Screening time: Sunday, Nov. 11, 10:00am-11:30am
Ages: 3-8
Double Trouble / Tarapaty (2017)
Screening time: Sunday, Nov. 11, 11:30am-1:00pm
(Polish version with English subtitles)
Duration: 85 min.
Ages: 8 and up
Directed by Marta Karwowska
Synopsis:
Friendship is not such a simple matter, and Julka knows it. She is 12 years old, goes to a boarding school and has never had a real friend yet. Holidays begin, and trouble with them. Julka, instead of her parents in Canada, goes to her aunt in Warsaw. Olek lives in the same building. When kids fall into the hands of a treasure plan, the adventure begins. On the way to solve the mystery is a thieving shack, a nanny - a heavy smoker and a suspicious candy eater. No one is what they say they are and the race continues over time. In order to get out of this story, Julka must overcome distrust and dare to be friends.
